editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Stephen Thompson is an editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he writes the advice column The Good Listener, fusses over the placement of commas and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the weekly NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk.In 1993, Thompson founded The Onion's entertainment section, The A.V. Club, which he edited until December 2004. In the years since, he has provided music-themed commentaries for the NPR programs Weekend Edition Sunday, All Things Considered and Morning Edition, on which he earned the distinction of becoming the first member of the NPR Music staff ever to sing on an NPR newsmagazine. (Later, the magic of AutoTune transformed him from a 12th-rate David Archuleta into a fourth-rate Cher.)NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Stephen ThompsonSat, 24 Sep 2016 06:51:22 +0000Stephen Thompsonhttp://nhpr.org
Stephen Thompson[In case you haven't heard, Pop Culture Happy Hour is embarking on a West Coast tour! San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles are sold out — though we recently added an appearance (with Guy Branum!) at the Now Hear This podcast festival in Anaheim on Oct. 29 — but we'll also be in Portland on Oct. 19 with our dear pal Audie Cornish. Tickets for that one are still available. Oh, and we're fielding requests for pop-culture advice, so fill out this form to send us your questions. We might just answer them onstage...]This is not a typical episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour. Our host, Linda Holmes, was sick in bed; a full four-person panel never quite materialized; and we never even sat down to list What's Making Us Happy this week. Instead, we came up with an assortment of odds and ends, hopefully with a little something for everyone.We start by recapping Sunday night's Emmy Awards. Before the telecast, Glen Weldon had angered the gods with a series of "Uncannily, Nay, Disquietingly AccuratePop Culture Happy Hour: Emmys, Comedy And Your Spooky Grandpahttp://nhpr.org/post/pop-culture-happy-hour-emmys-comedy-and-your-spooky-grandpa
97952 as http://nhpr.orgFri, 23 Sep 2016 10:00:00 +0000Pop Culture Happy Hour: Emmys, Comedy And Your Spooky GrandpaStephen Thompson[In case you haven't heard, Pop Culture Happy Hour is embarking on a West Coast tour! San Francisco and Los Angeles are already sold out — though we've just added an appearance (with Guy Branum!) at the Now Hear This podcast festival in Anaheim on Oct. 29 — but we'll also be in Seattle on Oct. 17 and Portland on Oct. 19 with our dear pal Audie Cornish. Oh, and we're fielding requests for pop-culture advice, so fill out this form to send us your questions. We might just answer them onstage...]This week on Pop Culture Happy Hour, Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon and I are joined by close-to-home podcast royalty in the form of the great and good Sam Sanders, host of the NPR Politics Podcast. And, since Sam spends his waking days (and more than a few sleepless nights) focused on this year's elections, we figured we'd find something at least a little bit politics-adjacent for him to discuss.So we start with "The Bunker," the season premiere of the IFC comedy series Documentary Now! Starring FredPop Culture Happy Hour: 'Documentary Now!' And Life Onscreenhttp://nhpr.org/post/pop-culture-happy-hour-documentary-now-and-life-onscreen
97620 as http://nhpr.orgFri, 16 Sep 2016 16:34:00 +0000Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Documentary Now!' And Life OnscreenStephen Thompson[In case you haven't heard, a big announcement: Pop Culture Happy Hour is embarking on a West Coast tour! We'll be in Seattle on Oct. 17 (with Audie Cornish), Portland on Oct. 19 (also with Audie Cornish), San Francisco on Oct. 21 (with Mallory Ortberg), and Los Angeles on Oct. 23 (with Kumail Nanjiani). For ticket information, click here — and remember that all four shows go on sale Tuesday, Sept. 6, at noon Pacific Time. Oh, and we're fielding requests for pop-culture advice, so fill out this form to send us your questions. We might just answer them onstage!)When You're The Worst premiered on FX two years ago, we didn't pay much attention. The problem, at least at first, was right there in the premise: Two misanthropes, played by Aya Cash and Chris Geere, have a one-night stand, only to realize over time that their hostility and distaste for others help make them strangely well-matched. Given that we're supposed to root for these people, it didn't feel like appointment TV, at leastPop Culture Happy Hour: 'You're The Worst' And Making Drama Funnyhttp://nhpr.org/post/pop-culture-happy-hour-youre-worst-and-making-drama-funny
96884 as http://nhpr.orgFri, 02 Sep 2016 16:49:00 +0000Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'You're The Worst' And Making Drama FunnyStephen ThompsonSince 1984, MTV has given out awards to honor achievements in the world of music videos. But the Video Music Awards have long been about moments as much as trophies: Madonna kissing Britney Spears in 2003, Kanye West busting into Taylor Swift's speech (which gave the world "I'ma let you finish") in 2009, the culmination of a Nicki Minaj-Miley Cyrus feud (which gave the world "Miley, what's good?") last year. It's a long tradition — as far back as the mid-'80s, Madonna was using the VMAs to cultivate controversy — but since the rise of social media, this particular awards show has played the hashtag game brilliantly.For MTV, the VMAs are a high-wire act of painstakingly choreographed performances and deliberately unscripted opportunities to let unpredictable stars air their ids and grievances on live television. This year, the beefs were kept to a minimum, but MTV did give West four minutes to essentially do whatever he wanted — following last year's famous onstage ramble, in which theAt MTV's Video Music Awards, It's All About 'Moments'http://nhpr.org/post/mtvs-video-music-awards-its-all-about-moments
96618 as http://nhpr.orgSun, 28 Aug 2016 22:45:00 +0000At MTV's Video Music Awards, It's All About 'Moments'Stephen ThompsonSummer has a way of sending the Pop Culture Happy Hour team hurtling across the country, so this episode required a bit of logistical maneuvering: We actually recorded it several weeks ago, just as Linda Holmes and I were about to jet off on separate West Coast jaunts. Glen Weldon wasn't yet back from Comic-Con, the rest of us aren't in Historic Studio 44... everything's topsy-turvy!Fortunately, Linda and I were able to land two of our favorite guest panelists — Kat Chow and Gene Demby, both swiped from the Code Switch team — for a discussion of a few relatively evergreen topics. First up is Rebecca Sugar's Cartoon Network series Steven Universe, which is just wrapping up its third season; listeners have been asking for our thoughts on the show for ages now, and we open this episode by giving it a thorough airing. That means delving into its complex mythology and vast cast of characters; its surprisingly nuanced and forward-thinking take on gender, race and sexuality; and its place inPop Culture Happy Hour: 'Steven Universe' And The Games We Playhttp://nhpr.org/post/pop-culture-happy-hour-steven-universe-and-games-we-play
95822 as http://nhpr.orgFri, 12 Aug 2016 10:00:00 +0000Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Steven Universe' And The Games We PlayStephen ThompsonIn honor of MTV's 35th birthday Monday, the network has launched MTV Classic, a new channel featuring programming from the '90s and '00s. On the same day, we also wish a happy birthday to NPR Music and Pop Culture Happy Hour's Stephen Thompson, who celebrates with an interview on All Things Considered about how MTV Classic is redefining which popular culture fits into the current environment for nostalgia.With the new channel, MTV — a pioneer of reality shows like The Real World and stripped-down musical performances — is reminding us of its status as a cultural vanguard, as well as its role in the cultural development of several generations, Thompson says. Daria, Beavis MTV Looks To Capitalize On Nostalgia With New 'Classic' Channelhttp://nhpr.org/post/mtv-looks-capitalize-nostalgia-new-classic-channel
95250 as http://nhpr.orgMon, 01 Aug 2016 20:27:00 +0000MTV Looks To Capitalize On Nostalgia With New 'Classic' ChannelStephen ThompsonOver on cable TV and streaming services, summertime doesn't mean an end to critically heralded programming, as evidenced by the recent return of Mr. Robot (on the USA Network) and the launch of Stranger Things (on Netflix). But over on the major networks, lighter fare still dominates, which brings us to ABC's recently launched reboot of the vintage game shows $100,000 Pyramid and Match Game.Glen Weldon and I have taken a particular interest in the latter show, in which host Alec Baldwin aims to resuscitate a franchise that had largely peaked in the '70s and early '80s. For those who've never seen the show in its prime, when it was hosted by Gene Rayburn, Match Game has a panel of celebrities answer a series of bawdy fill-in-the-blank statements, which contestants would then attempt to predict accurately. In the '70s, the celebrities — or, if you prefer, "celebrities" — included the likes of Charles Nelson Reilly, Brett Somers, Richard Dawson and Fannie Flagg; in the reboot's pilot,Small Batch: The Return Of 'Match Game'http://nhpr.org/post/small-batch-return-match-game
95239 as http://nhpr.orgMon, 01 Aug 2016 17:52:00 +0000Small Batch: The Return Of 'Match Game'Stephen ThompsonWe've reached the part of every summer when the PCHH gang begins to scatter to the four winds. Linda Holmes, for example, recorded this week's episode the day before leaving for the Television Critics Association's two-and-a-half-week Press Tour, while Glen was still home recuperating from the ever-exhausting San Diego Comic-Con. So it only makes sense that this week's panel is itself scattered, albeit to only three winds: Linda and I were in D.C., while our producer emeritus and music director, Mike Katzif, was in a New York studio — and intrepid Margaret H. Willison, usually based in Boston, was at WBEZ in Chicago due to a friend's wedding in the area.Still, we had little trouble uniting behind a common purpose: appreciation of the eight-episode Netflix series Stranger Things, which has become an instant favorite on the strength of its cast (including Winona Ryder, David Harbour and some impeccably chosen kids) and its spot-on re-creation of 1980s entertainment (including the worksPop Culture Happy Hour: 'Stranger Things' And Onscreen Weddingshttp://nhpr.org/post/pop-culture-happy-hour-stranger-things-and-onscreen-weddings
95107 as http://nhpr.orgFri, 29 Jul 2016 09:00:00 +0000Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Stranger Things' And Onscreen WeddingsStephen ThompsonIf you've listened to NPR or stepped outside in the last week or so, then you've probably already heard about Pokemon GO, a new "Augmented Reality" app in which players encounter and "catch" Pokemon characters the game has (virtually) situated around their own neighborhoods. In addition to its massive success, the game has sparked an assortment of controversies, the latest of which involves players showing up at "Pokestops" located in, for example, Arlington National Cemetery and the United States Holocaust Museum.For this Small Batch edition of Pop Culture Happy Hour, Glen Weldon and I sit down to discuss the game: its allure and ubiquity, the inevitable backlash and glitches, and its zeitgeist-y collision of gaming, community and nostalgia.Also, though it's certainly not necessary in order to follow this discussion, I highly recommend catching up on Glen's day-brightening 3,000-word Pokemon GO essay. Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.Small Batch: The Rise Of (And Backlash Against) Pokemon GO http://nhpr.org/post/small-batch-rise-and-backlash-against-pokemon-go
94208 as http://nhpr.orgWed, 13 Jul 2016 20:46:00 +0000Small Batch: The Rise Of (And Backlash Against) Pokemon GO Stephen ThompsonIt's been a while since Code Switch correspondent Gene Demby and I gathered in a studio to talk sports for the Pop Culture Happy Hour spinoff we call The Giant Foam Finger. But the stars aligned perfectly this week – thanks, in large part, to the Golden State Warriors' July 4 signing of superstar small forward Kevin Durant, which has led to prolific hand-wringing about the short-term future of pro basketball.In addition to weakening Durant's former employer, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the move cements the Warriors' place as a veritable Superteam – a collection of players that, at least on paper, sounds like an inevitable NBA champion. (Durant is joining two-time NBA MVP Steph Curry, as well as all-stars Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, though the remaining roster has holes that will need to be filled using precious little salary-cap space.)After a few words about the reigning NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers, Gene and I dig into some philosophical questions: Is it fair to have thisThe Giant Foam Finger: Who's Afraid Of A Superteam? http://nhpr.org/post/giant-foam-finger-whos-afraid-superteam
93847 as http://nhpr.orgThu, 07 Jul 2016 15:31:00 +0000The Giant Foam Finger: Who's Afraid Of A Superteam? Stephen ThompsonThis is our 300th episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour — not counting Small Batch editions, which would drive the number significantly higher — so now's as good a time as any to thank everyone who's listened, supported us both within and outside NPR, and/or appeared on the show itself. We're feeling awfully appreciative that we've been allowed to stick around this long.Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, Code Switch's Gene Demby and I kick off Episode 300 by trying to wrap our heads around a daunting project: Ezra Edelman's towering new five-part, seven-and-a-half-hour ESPN documentary about O.J. Simpson, titled O.J.: Made In America. Rather than merely focus on the famous trial in which the former football star was accused (and, in a controversial decision, acquitted) of murdering his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994, Edelman tells a much more sprawling and ambitious story. (For more on O.J.: Made In America, please read Linda's tremendous essay from last week.Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'O.J.: Made In America' And A Quizhttp://nhpr.org/post/pop-culture-happy-hour-oj-made-america-and-quiz
92818 as http://nhpr.orgFri, 17 Jun 2016 11:00:00 +0000Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'O.J.: Made In America' And A QuizStephen ThompsonWelcome, friends, to a discussion featuring four of the only people in America to see Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping in theaters last weekend. Though the movie wasn't a box-office hit, to put it lightly, we whip up an extraordinary amount of affection for The Lonely Island's goofy comedy — a lightweight but joke-dense look at "Conner4Real," a vaguely Bieber-esque singer and rapper (Andy Samberg) who used to belong to a boy band called the Style Boyz with Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. Made as a mockumentary that chronicles Conner4Real's fall and rise, Pop Star incorporates an enormous number of music-business cameos, but never at the expense of a flood of jokes.All four of us on this week's panel — that'd be host Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, special guest Margaret H. Willison and me — think Pop Star has cult-hit potential, which helps us segue into our second topic: our favorite movie comedies that tap into a rich vein of humor about (and at the expense of) musicians. Since allPop Culture Happy Hour: 'Pop Star' And Making Music Funnyhttp://nhpr.org/post/pop-culture-happy-hour-pop-star-and-making-music-funny
92426 as http://nhpr.orgFri, 10 Jun 2016 11:00:00 +0000Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Pop Star' And Making Music FunnyStephen ThompsonJust as the winter holiday season seems to arrive sooner and sooner every year, so goes the season for summer movie blockbusters. When Batman V. Superman came out in late March, it felt like the equivalent of picking out your Halloween costumes at a store that's already hawking tinsel. A few years ago, the first weekend in May became the de facto launch of summer-movie season — itself a move up from Memorial Day Weekend a while back — but this year has been different. Between BvS and the Jungle Book remake currently dominating the box office, another crowded blockbuster season is already underway.Which is why we decided to push our own annual Summer Movie Preview into April, rather than wait until May and miss our window for making such bold predictions as, "Captain America: Civil War seems like it might make some money." So this week's panel — host Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, producer emeritus Mike Katzif, and me — decided to get cracking on some previews and predictions. We broke ourPop Culture Happy Hour: Our 2016 Summer Movie Previewhttp://nhpr.org/post/pop-culture-happy-hour-our-2016-summer-movie-preview
89607 as http://nhpr.orgFri, 22 Apr 2016 15:54:00 +0000Pop Culture Happy Hour: Our 2016 Summer Movie PreviewStephen ThompsonWhen Linda Holmes and I jumped in to the studio to record this Pop Culture Happy Hour Small Batch on Thursday afternoon, news of Prince Rogers Nelson's death was less than an hour old. So if we seem a little numb in spots, well, there's a reason for that.But we did want to give shape to Prince's considerable legacy — as a musician we love, as an iconoclast unbound by creative or commercial constraints, as a rebel who challenged the very notion of what rebellion means in pop music, as a supporter (and prolific collaborator) of women musicians, and as someone capable of lighthearted maneuvers, from his bonkers 2007 Super Bowl halftime show to his playful and entirely unexpected 2014 guest spot on the Fox sitcom The New Girl.In the coming weeks and months, much more will be written and said about Prince's astounding musical legacy and body of work. For now, Linda and I just wanted to gather up our immediate thoughts. Chief among them: that this news completely and utterly sucks. CopyrightPop Culture Happy Hour Small Batch: Remembering Princehttp://nhpr.org/post/pop-culture-happy-hour-small-batch-remembering-prince
89571 as http://nhpr.orgThu, 21 Apr 2016 21:43:00 +0000Pop Culture Happy Hour Small Batch: Remembering PrinceStephen ThompsonQuick announcement, before we get started: During the month of April, Pop Culture Happy Hour will be available a day early, exclusively in the NPR One app. Nothing else will change; the show will otherwise appear in your feeds and on this site first thing Friday morning. But for those who use NPR One, or who've been thinking about trying it, you'll get a little head start. To try NPR One, you can download the app or listen via your web browser.Glen Weldon has a new book out about Batman — perhaps he's mentioned it? A few years ago, he even wrote a book about Superman.So we couldn't possibly pass up a chance to discuss Batman v. Superman: Dawn Of Justice, the gigantic new superhero-crossover blockbuster that's supposed to launch a zillion likeminded juggernauts in the coming years. And, as we so often do when we talk about movies in which buildings get knocked over, Linda Holmes and I called on our pal Chris Klimek to join us; after all, Chris was our staunchest defender of BvS's ZackPop Culture Happy Hour: 'Batman V. Superman' And The Objects We Desirehttp://nhpr.org/post/pop-culture-happy-hour-batman-v-superman-and-objects-we-desire
88269 as http://nhpr.orgFri, 01 Apr 2016 10:00:00 +0000Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Batman V. Superman' And The Objects We DesireStephen ThompsonAt the end of a grueling Academy Awards race, we at Pop Culture Happy Hour like to unwind with a good, long talk we call our "Oscars Omnibus" — a roundup of our thoughts on all the Best Picture nominees, notable acting nominees, and issues and themes surrounding the prior year in movies. This year gave us plenty to chew on, as you can imagine, and as you can hear for yourself on this page.Linda Holmes, Glen Weldon, All Things Considered movie critic Bob Mondello and I open with a dash through this year's Best Picture contenders, giving a little extra time to the movies we haven't discussed at length on the show before. Here they are, in the order we tackle them:* We did a full segment on The Martian when it came out, so we're pretty brief here; the discussion mostly revolves around whether the film is too lively and entertaining to be considered "Oscar bait."* Bridge Of Spies also got a long discussion around the time of its release — and, though we're fans of Mark Rylance's supportingPop Culture Happy Hour: Our 2016 Oscars Previewhttp://nhpr.org/post/pop-culture-happy-hour-our-2016-oscars-preview
86179 as http://nhpr.orgFri, 26 Feb 2016 05:01:00 +0000Pop Culture Happy Hour: Our 2016 Oscars PreviewStephen ThompsonSometime tomorrow, Linda Holmes and I will break down Monday night's Grammys telecast in a Small Batch edition of Pop Culture Happy Hour. And, for a variety of reasons, we're not likely to spend much time on the awards themselves.The headlines there, after all, aren't shocking: Taylor Swift's 1989 won Album Of The Year, beating out Kendrick Lamar's more creatively ambitious and critically heralded To Pimp A Butterfly. Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk" won Record Of The Year, which was hard to dispute, while Song Of The Year went to Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud," which was all too easy to dispute, if you're me. Meghan Trainor won Best New Artist, while the year's heavily nominated standard-bearers in rock (Alabama Shakes), country (Chris Stapleton), and hip-hop (Lamar) largely dominated their fields.This Grammys transcended the usual awards-show industry showcase in two performances, set back to back in a manner that proved almost disorientingly powerful. First, the cast ofFor 20 Minutes, The Grammys Transcend The Awards-Show Blahshttp://nhpr.org/post/20-minutes-grammys-transcend-awards-show-blahs
85533 as http://nhpr.orgTue, 16 Feb 2016 05:46:00 +0000For 20 Minutes, The Grammys Transcend The Awards-Show BlahsStephen ThompsonPop Culture Happy Hour entered this week juggling a couple of problems. For one, a gigantic blizzard had just dumped roughly two feet of snow on the D.C. area, making transportation virtually impossible and, it turns out, stranding Glen Weldon in a Virginia cabin for much of the week. Getting the gang together would be no easy task.Then there's the matter of a little backlog we'd had lying around, in the form of two Linda Holmes interviews — one onstage with Fred Armisen at our live Halloween show, and one a few nights later at D.C.'s Sixth Pop Culture Happy Hour: In Conversation With Fred Armisen And 'Welcome To Night Vale'http://nhpr.org/post/pop-culture-happy-hour-conversation-fred-armisen-and-welcome-night-vale
84436 as http://nhpr.orgFri, 29 Jan 2016 12:00:00 +0000Pop Culture Happy Hour: In Conversation With Fred Armisen And 'Welcome To Night Vale'Stephen ThompsonA few months ago, Code Switch lead blogger Gene Demby turned to Twitter in an attempt to crowd-source a solution to a problem he'd been having. Gene had begun watching Premier League soccer but couldn't settle on a rooting interest, so he asked the league's fans to convince him to root for one team or another.In this episode of The Giant Foam Finger — our occasional sports-themed offshoot of Pop Culture Happy Hour — I open by asking Gene for an update on his Premier League search. But then we move on to a farther-reaching discussion of why we might root for one team or another in any sport, for reasons ranging from geography to friendship, familial bonds, favorite individual athletes, bandwagon-jumping and even good old-fashioned spite.Naturally, given the theme of crowd-sourcing, we'd love to hear what listeners think. What made you choose your favorite teams? And, given the inspiration for this discussion, we'd love to hear more arguments for why Gene and I should root for yourThe Giant Foam Finger: How Do You Choose Your Favorite Team?http://nhpr.org/post/giant-foam-finger-how-do-you-choose-your-favorite-team
83884 as http://nhpr.orgWed, 20 Jan 2016 17:44:00 +0000The Giant Foam Finger: How Do You Choose Your Favorite Team?Stephen ThompsonFrank Sinatra was born 100 years ago this past Saturday, which at NPR can mean only one thing: an opportunity to talk to the biggest Sinatra superfan we know, business reporter Sonari Glinton, about the singer's formidable legacy.Of course, we weren't the only ones to think of Sonari in conjunction with Sinatra's 100th: Morning Edition and All Things Considered and Planet Money all beat us to the punch. (Seriously, if you work for an NPR program and you've met Sonari, you're going to think to interview him for a Sinatra story when the time comes.) But we did get a nice batch of reflections on what makes Sinatra stand out from other singers, where beginners can find a foothold in a massive discography, and why "emotional honesty" is so important to Sinatra's legacy. Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.Pop Culture Happy Hour Small Batch: Frank Sinatra At 100http://nhpr.org/post/pop-culture-happy-hour-small-batch-frank-sinatra-100
81888 as http://nhpr.orgTue, 15 Dec 2015 12:04:00 +0000Pop Culture Happy Hour Small Batch: Frank Sinatra At 100